


Never Trust a Person your Dog Doesn't Like

by Amedia



Category: due South
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arson, Background Case, Danger, Fire, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27395776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amedia/pseuds/Amedia
Summary: When Fraser is endangered by an arsonist, Diefenbaker helps solve the case.
Relationships: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Never Trust a Person your Dog Doesn't Like

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ride_4ever (Ride_Forever)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ride_Forever/gifts).



> Prompt fill for ride_4ever, who requested the fandom _due South_ with the prompts: "Fraser/Kowalski. Phrase prompt: 'smoke and ashes'. Trope prompt: angst with a happy ending." Mmm, angst!
> 
> Also published on DW/LJ.

It was a tough case, but at least they had narrowed the pool of suspects down to two. Kowalski was leaning toward the fire chief being the arsonist. Fraser thought the chemistry professor was more likely. But neither of them could be sure.

"Ray, the professor clearly has the knowledge and skills to concoct the unusual accelerants used in the fires."

"But so does the fire chief! And he's in the perfect profession to know exactly how the inquiry will proceed."

Fraser sighed. "You're right."

Kowalski sighed. "So are you. Maybe we should sleep on it." He glanced sidelong at Fraser and added, "Maybe we should put our heads together. Or, you know, other body parts. Tonight, I mean." _Way to go, Kowalski_ , he told himself. _How un-smooth can you get?_

Fraser smiled at him. "An excellent suggestion, Ray. However, I fear that my worries about this case would make me a poor partner for such interaction. Perhaps we can indulge in a bout of celebratory intercourse after we have ascertained the perpetrator."

Kowalski tried to smother a chuckle.

"Did you say something?" asked Fraser.

"I was just thinking ... perpetrator, penetrator, kinda similar."

Fraser cocked one eyebrow and very nearly smiled. "Good night, Ray."

"Yeah, g'night, Fraser. See you in the morning."

******

Morning came a lot sooner than Kowalski expected. The call from Dispatch at 2 a.m. had him tumbling out of bed and into his clothes so quickly that he wasn't even fully awake until he reached the sidewalk. By the time he reached the site, Fraser's apartment building was fully involved, flames shooting from the broken windows, multiple fire units working together, trying to save what and whom they could. 

Ray looked around the scene. He didn't see Fraser. He didn't see Diefenbaker. And he didn't see the fire chief. Fear licked at his mind like hungry flames. _This can't be a coincidence_ , he thought. _We must have gotten close to the right guy. Spooked him. And this is his go-to problem-solving method_. He looked around the block, hoping to spot one of the suspects among the onlookers, but the smoke in his eyes made them tear up and he couldn't squint them clear.

Then he heard a familiar bark. He turned back toward the building, hardly daring to hope. Dief was bounding toward him. He squatted down and held up his arms, and Dief jumped into them, bowling Kowalski over. He petted the smoke-grayed fur and looked up to see Fraser, alive, slung around the fire chief's shoulders in a fireman's carry. The chief was taking him off to the side, away from the smoke, where the paramedics were set up. Kowalski took a deep breath and felt his heart start beating again; Dief nudged him to get up and follow. 

Kowalski and Dief stood by as the fire chief laid Fraser carefully down on a blanket and a paramedic began examining him. She was a middle-aged black woman, calm and professional. Fraser was coughing, trying to answer her questions while she set him up with an oxygen mask. Fraser looked up, saw Kowalski, and winked, then turned his attention back to the paramedic, who was now taking his blood pressure and pulse. 

The fire chief spoke to Kowalski without taking his eyes off Fraser. "That dog is really something. He came racing out of the building, took my coat in his mouth, and dragged me back in to where your friend was trapped by a collapsed ceiling. I swear he tried to help me dig him out." He leaned down and scritched Diefenbaker behind the ears and Dief leaned into his hand. 

"I'm grateful to both of ya," said Kowalski, feeling that words were inadequate. He watched the fire chief with Diefenbaker for a moment, and then something clicked. A saying he'd heard. _Never trust a person your dog doesn't like_. Surely the reverse was true. So, if he could trust the fire chief ... "Dief, boy!" he said, tugging at Dief's collar. The dog turned around and Kowalski spoke slowly so Dief could read his lips. "Let's go for a walk. There's someone you might help me find."

Kowalski still had a pen in his pocket that the chemistry professor had lent him during their last interview. He held it in front of Diefenbaker's nose, and nodded as Dief immediately turned and sniffed the air for a moment, then began walking purposefully toward the spectators across the street.

Kowalski followed Diefenbaker through the crowded sidewalk. His eyes were clearing up now that he was away from the smoke, and he quickly recognized the professor as they approached him. Spotting Kowalski, the professor began to look around nervously, as if he were about to bolt. "I wouldn't run, sir," Kowalski called to him. "You might activate his predatory instincts—Ah, shit. Go get him, Dief!"

He followed at a leisurely pace; Dief wouldn't let the perp get far. Less than half a block later, he found the professor flat on the ground with Diefenbaker on top of him, growling in his face. "Would you kindly remove this mutt, detective?" demanded the professor, his shaky voice belying his attempt to sound dignified.

"He's not a mutt. He's half wolf. I told ya not to run." The professor's eyes got bigger and he stopped talking. "Okay, Dief, let him go now." Kowalski pulled the professor to his feet and patted him down. "Huh," he said. "Where's the stuff? The accelerant?" 

Diefenbaker was still circling both of them, growling, his eyes fixed on the professor. The professor gulped and said, "In the trunk of my car."

"Good, good," said Kowalski, handcuffing him as he spoke. "Thank you for your cooperation." He took the car keys from the professor's pocket and put them in his own, then took out his Miranda card. "Quiet now, Dief. Good boy. Now, professor. You're under arrest for arson and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent ..." When he was done, he hauled the man to his feet, cuffed him, and took him over to a nearby squad car. Showing his badge, he said, "This is the guy that set the fire. Almost killed my partner. You guys watch him for a minute?"

"Gladly," said one of the uniformed officers. Perhaps too gladly.

"Hey!" Kowalski added with a glare. "No funny business. We need him all in one healthy piece so we can send his ass to prison." The uniforms nodded reluctantly. "C'mon, Dief."

Kowalski reached Fraser just as his stretcher was lifted into the ambulance. Fraser saw him, mouthed the name "Ray," and smiled. The paramedics, who'd seen police partners before, let Kowalski lean in and briefly clasp Fraser's hand. "You were right about that prof, Fraser," Kowalski said. "Dief and I nailed the bastard. I'll be at the hospital with the details as soon as I can." Fraser nodded. One of the paramedics jumped into the back of the ambulance with Fraser, while the other one closed the doors and knocked to let the driver know the patient was ready to transport.

The paramedic who stayed outside was the one he had seen giving Fraser oxygen earlier. Kowalski jerked his head toward the ambulance, and asked her, "He gonna be all right?" 

"A little smoke inhalation, some bruises," she said. "I didn't find any broken bones, but they'll do x-rays just in case." She patted his shoulder. "And hearing that you caught the guy—that'll do more for him than any other treatment right now. I have to say, I'm damn happy about it myself."

Kowalski thanked her and headed back toward the squad car. It was time to transport the prisoner, time to locate the evidence, time to scribble a report that Welsh would probably make him rewrite later. Then it would be time to visit Fraser in the hospital. But soon—he hoped, very soon—it would be time to enjoy a bout of celebratory intercourse.


End file.
